McCoy Spring Petroglyphs 
We
had been planning this trip for some time. I think it
was this quote from David Whitley's book, A
Guide to Rock Art Sites: Southern California and Southern Nevada, that
made this a must do trip, "Because of harsh desert conditions,
only experienced, physically fit, properly equipped hikers
should attempt this trip, and then only during relatively cool
weather." We always did like a challenge! Besides,
McCoy Spring is the largest rock art site in southeastern California. There
are over 2,000 petroglyph boulders at this large and spectacular
site. The spring was the only permanent water source
in the area, and probably sustained a permanent village here. Brush
hut foundations can be found here as well as numerous prehistoric
trails that attest to the significance of this location. Heavy
revarnishing of the older petroglyphs indicates ages of 5,000
or more years. Obviously this would be at the top of
anybody's trip list! However, there are some problems.McCoy
Spring now lies within the newly formed Palen-McCoy
Wilderness. A
round trip desert hike of over ten miles is now the only way
to get there. This requires a serious level of planning,
preparation and fitness that precludes the trip for many people. Click
on the photo link at the end of this article to get an idea
of what you might see there. If you are still interested,
I would recommend David Whitley's book for directions and for
information about the site itself. Maybe it was just
the endorphins kicking in from the hike, but this was truly
a magical spot!
In response to a request
for more photos of the petroglyphs from this site, we have added a second
photo album.